


Third Year.

by jexellan



Series: Hufflepuff!Grantaire [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Hogwarts AU, Hufflepuff!Grantaire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-24
Updated: 2013-03-24
Packaged: 2017-12-06 07:55:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/733234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jexellan/pseuds/jexellan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He wakes up to the sound of his sister shrieking as she sprints into his room and throws herself onto his bed--and him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Third Year.

He wakes up to the sound of his sister shrieking as she sprints into his room and throws herself onto his bed—and him.

_“Wha—UGAAAAAH—”_

_“R, LOOK WHAT CAME TODAY!”_

_“Huh?”_

He looks at the paper that she’s waving in her face, and—

Oh.

_“That’s awesome! Congrats!”_

He pulls her into a colossal bear hug, before pulling away and snatching the badge out of her hand.

_“Hey, careful—!”_

_“Relax, I’m just lookin’!”_

He holds it up in the sunlight peaking through the curtains, turning it in his fingers before returning it to her.

_“So does this mean you’re going to be docking me points for being an annoying little brother?”_

She laughs.

The grin he gives her is genuine.

_—-_

When they get back from a celebratory dinner later on, he goes into his room to find an owl with a package on his bed. He finds a treat to give the owl before he tears open the package.

A beautiful set of watercolor pants and brushes sits in the wrappings.

After gawking at it, he notices the letter that came with the package and tears it open.

_You’re probably sick of me giving you art supplies, but R, a talent like yours shouldn’t go to waste! And I’ve told you how my mother is about “letting your inner artist soar” and all that._

_Anyway, hope you like it. Happy Birthday, R!_

_—-_

It’s not until late afternoon the following day that his sister realizes they all forgot his birthday.

He doesn’t hold it against her. Really, he doesn’t. He knows she didn’t mean anything by it. And he’s really proud of her being named a prefect, he really is.

(He’s more than a little upset with his parents, though.)

—-

He piles into a compartment on the train with Jehan, Marius, Bahorel, and Feuilly—a second year Gryffindor who’s been friends with Bahorel since before Hogwarts. 

Courfeyrac drops by later, plopping down on the floor in front of Jehan and Marius’ seats. 

—-

_“Wow. I’m so sorry, R.”_

_“Eh.”_

They sit huddled together on the floor in-between their beds late that night. Marius’ snoring covers up their whispers.

 _“I mean, that great for your sister, but to forget your_ birthday _—”_

_“Really, Jehan, it’s fine.”_

Jehan looks at him squarely.

_“No, Grantaire, it’s not.”_

He doesn’t deny it this time.

—-

_“‘Dueling club?’ Seriously?”_

“ _Come on, R! You won’t try out for Quidditch, Gobstones is boring; now_ this _is something exciting!”_

_“I don’t know, Bahorel…”_

Courfeyrac chimes in,  _“Oh, come on, don’t pretend like you wouldn’t be good at it. You get top marks in almost everything—”_

 _“_ That’s _an exaggeration—”_

_“Grantaire, you got a 100% on Flitwick’s last exam—”_

_“Charms isn’t exactly_ dueling _, though—”_

 _“One meeting! Just one!”_ Bahorel gripped him by the shoulders, shaking him.

“… _Fine_.  _But Marius and Jehan have to come, too.”_

Courfeyrac grins wickedly.  _“Oh, trust me, I’m on it.”_

_—-_

_“Why did we think this was a good idea again?”_

_“Don’t look at me,_ you’re _the one who said to bring Marius—”_

_“HEY!”_

_“It’s nothing personal, mate, it’s just—”_

_“Oh, shut it, let’s just get him to Madam Pomfrey—”_

_“Hey, wait up!”_

They all jerk to a stop, Marius still clutching his bloody nose, and turn toward the voice behind them. Enjolras is jogging over to them, slightly out of breath. Combeferre and Courfeyrac are close behind him.

 _“I saw what happened,”_  Enjolras blurts out.  _“That guy—that was out of line.”_  He stands a little taller, his eyes burning with what could only be described as righteous fury. 

 _“Yeah, well,”_  Marius shrugs, still holding his hand over his nose in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding; Combeferre pulls a handkerchief from his pocket and hands it to him. _“Thaaks—bud yeah, id’s dueling club. Thigs lig this are gonna habben.”_

_“That guy was a fifth year, and to pull something like that on a third year Hufflepuff, that’s just—”_

_“Hold on, what does being a_ Hufflepuff _have anything to do with it?”_

A pause. He, Jehan and Marius all stare at Enjolras, waiting for an answer. Combeferre has chosen this moment to polish off some imaginary dirt on his glasses. Bahorel is shaking his head, looking up at the ceiling. Courfeyrac mutters something along the lines of,  _“Well, shit.”_

Enjolras’ face flushes.  _“I didn’t mean it like that—”_

 _“Well, what did you mean, then?”_ He strides over to where Enjolras stands and glowers up at him. Enjolras has about four inches on him, at least.

_“I was only saying that—”_

_“That Hufflepuffs are what? Stupid? Weak? Helpless?”_ He scoffs. _“Jehan over here could hex you into jelly if he wasn’t busy reading poetry and acing his Herbology exams. Marius might not be the best at dueling, but he was the youngest starting chaser on_ any _of the House teams last year.”_

He takes a step closer until he is nose-to-nose with Enjolras.  _“We may not be_ big, tough  _Gryffindors, but we sure as hell don’t need your pity, or your help.”_

With one final glare, he turns and storms off. Jehan and Marius hurry to catch up, while Bahorel stays behind, whistling softly and looking anywhere but at Enjolras. 

Enjolras, for his part, watches the three Hufflepuffs go, his brow furrowed.

Courfeyrac opens his mouth to say something, but Combeferre shakes his head at him. 

He keeps his mouth shut. For once.

—-

Something in him shifts that day.

He might not yet be  _proud_  of his House.

But he sure as hell wasn’t ashamed anymore.

—-

Once again, he spends Christmas at Hogwarts.

Jehan stays over break this time.

They meet up with Bahorel, Courfeyrac, Marius, and Feuilly and trek over to the Quidditch pitch, even though it’s cold and snowing and they have to use cheap school brooms. 

It’s the first time he has ever flown.

(It’s also the last.)

—-

On New Year’s Eve, he and Jehan figure out how to get into the kitchens.

They run out to go find the others.

They’re hailed as heroes for the rest of the night.

—-

He’s not surprised that his parents forgot to sign his Hogsmeade form.

He doesn’t write to them asking for it, either.

(Jehan and the others promise to find a way to sneak him in sometime.

That makes him feel a bit better.)

—-

While the others are at Hogsmeade, he helps a second year Hufflepuff named Cosette with her Transfiguration homework.

It becomes a routine for them.

(He likes to think that he’s not  _totally_  useless.)

—-

More whispers about a war.

_“Enjolras thinks the Prophet is trying to hush it all up…”_

_“I don’t know. Don’t you think the minister would tell the people if there was really something to worry about?”_

_“Marius, you are absolutely convinced that the minister can do no wrong, aren’t you?”_

_“I’m not saying that—”_

He barely listens; just continues drawing in his sketchbook.

—-

Marius comes in from Quidditch practice visibly upset.

“I’ve been bumped down to back-up!”

Apparently a second-year girl showed up virtually everyone else at try-outs.

(Later he learns it was Cosette.

He makes a mental note to bring her some of his Pumpkin Pasties to their next homework session.)

—-

He continues to doodle in class.

He continues to get top marks.

The teachers don’t know how he manages.

They don’t ask.

—-

_“Does that offer to come visit over the summer still stand?”_

_“Of course! Why, have you heard from your parents?”_

_“Not exactly.”_

—-

On the train, he tells his sister to tell their parents that he’s just going to leave King’s Cross with Jehan and stay at his place for a week.

It’s a fantastic week.

—-

He gets back home.

His father is not happy.


End file.
